GlamSticks not GreySticks!

Have you observed how society appears to ignore the sick and disabled? Before I became poorly with a chronic debilitating sickness I was an entertaining lively personality with a lot of friends and the life and soul of numerous parties! My health problems changed all that and one by one I lost my friends. I was no longer fun to be around, I was too drained to go to go out socialising and I had to frequently cancel arrangments due to my illness

Not only was I becoming dull to my friends I seemed to be becoming nonexistent elsewhere in public. If I had to go out using my crutches or later on my wheelchair I noticed the public would pretend I wasn't there or talk to my carer instead of me. I suppose the only benefit was that I was never handed flyers!! I tried to stand out from the crowd by wearing fun colorful outfits and accessories but it was still the same story. I was disabled therefore I didn't exist. I don't think it helped that my walking canes and crutches were the dull boring NHS types. They genuinely made me feel lifeless and boring.

It seems surprising that up until fairly recently people with mobility concerns were more or less ignored by the fashion and accessories industry. It makes you question if despite disability discrimination legislation and inclusion of more disabled people into schools and the place of work whether the way of thinking is if you have a disability you should hide from view and stay inside. I have noticed that in the past when I was in my wheelchair people would observe me then subsequently their eyes would slide away from me as if uncomfortable.

I was always a follower of fashion when I could walk and so I didn’t see why that should change when I couldn’t. I was still the identical human being, just I was too exhausted to walk. Lucky for me some organisations have become aware of of the fashion conscious mobility impaired population and have started adding a bit of bling and colour to mobility aids. One such organisation is GlamSticks which is a non income organisation run by a disabled individual who was sick of tedious grey mobility aids and decided to do something about it. On the website you will discover rhinestone encrusted walking canes, pom pom covered crutches, shimmering canes, and handpainted canes. The review page is full of people thanking her for changing their lives. People who now are able to have a walking stick to match their outfit on a smart cruise, or crutches designed to match a wedding outfit, or fun sparkly crutches for young children. One lady said her sister now felt confident about leaving the house when before her grey crutches had left her feeling ashamed and lacking in self esteem.

I believe going out with a sparkly cane instead of a grey boring one is a form of social empowerment. You are asking to be noticed. You are defying people to ignore you. You are fashionable and funky and not to be ignored. I am glad that some businesses and organisations at last are recognising the need in the world of mobility aids for colourful and fashionable canes and crutches. I am not invisible, I want to be noticed for the fun vibrant person I am.

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For more information go to www.glamsticks.co.uk

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